HAZE
by I Asked Alice
Summary: He inhaled sharply and suddenly found himself choking on the stench of sweat and his own blood pooling on the hot street beneath him. With a grim smile and realization that washed over him like the hot, August sun, Marth let slip his final words…
1. Chapter 1

HAZE. →A↓→A↓

* * *

_He inhaled sharply and suddenly found himself choking on the stench of sweat and his own blood pooling on the hot street beneath him. With a grim smile and realization that washed over him like the hot, August sun, Marth let slip his final words… →A↓→A↓_

* * *

If you know anything about Kagerou Days, you'll have a pretty clear idea about just where this story is going. The plan is to keep it around three to four chapters. You know, hopefully. I also hope this actually makes sense... and that I didn't miss anything.

Rated T for character death, possibly disturbing content, minor language, and weird grammatical errors that might come about as I type on my tablet. The thing hates typing.

→A↓→A↓ is the Song of Time, just to clear things up.

* * *

The middle of August, Marth thought, seemed like an awfully peculiar month for a fighting tournament to take place. It was a scorching hot month, and he'd never experienced it any other way. The lingering scent of blood and sweat in the locker room was almost too much to stomach in combination with the added heat of the collection of bodies. When he closed his eyes, Marth was almost reminded of war. His mind began to wander.

He was ripped away from his thoughts when Link, a fellow competitor, bumped into him. Neither man made any indication that they had noticed other than a quick aside glance and apologetic nod—Link remaining in his usual state of silence and Marth in regal posture. Their eyes met for a brief moment, but the connection was quickly lost. They were not friends, only competitors. Aside from noble tales that leaked their way around the competition, the two hardly knew anything about each other.

As the Hylian man went about his way, Marth sighed and wiped the sweat from his neck and face. Slipping on a spare shirt from his locker, he cast his towel into the pile with the rest of the soiled ones and headed straight for his room. He would shower in privacy—the idea of doing so in a group of strangers he'd pulled his blade on slightly unsettling. His mind drifted back to Link, and Marth bit his lip. _I should have said something…_

"Good afternoon, Prince Marth!" Came a chipper Princess Peach from down the hall. Presumably, she was on her way to prepare for her own match for the day.

Marth offered a polite bow and warm smile, "Good afternoon to you too, mi'lady."

"Did your match go well?"

"Ah, yes. I took second place, actually." Marth smiled.

Peach laughed playfully and then eyed Marth quizzically, "Second?"

Marth nodded, "There is no shame in losing to a strong fighter. I gave it my all, and I am content enough with my performance for now."

"I see..." Peach said, her face quickly lighting up. "Your match was against Link, right?"

"That is correct."

"By the way…" Peach began. "Do you two know each other well? It seems like you do."

Marth's eyes widened in surprise, "Hm? Does it? No, we do not."

"Really? I heard Zelda say earlier that—"

As if the mere mention of her name had summoned her, Zelda entered the hall. She nodded to the other royals. "Princess Peach. Prince Marth."

They returned the gesture. Before the prince even had a chance, Peach spoke up first. "Oh, Zelda! I was just asking Marth about Link. You said that they knew each other well, right?"

Zelda stood still for a moment, and then shook her head. "Not that I can recall."

"Oh, darn! I could have sworn that you did." Peach sighed. "I'm sorry, Marth. I didn't mean to spread a rumor."

Marth laughed. "No worries, mi'lady. Now, if you'll excuse me…"

"Oh, of course!"

As he left the room, Marth could have sworn he felt a chill as he passed Zelda. He briefly stopped again, turning to face her. She returned his gaze.

"Marth… Please take care at your match tomorrow."

* * *

_His eyes shot open as he ripped the blankets off of his body in a panic. He sat still for a moment, his hands feeling clammy from waking in a cold sweat. The only sound was the clock ticking on the wall. He let his eyes fall on the object, seeing it was only a little past midnight. That made it August 15__th__._

_The match was today…_

* * *

The participants of the match braced themselves as the transporter sent them to Onett. Marth's heart dropped when he saw Ness, Lucas, and Pikachu appear on the stage with him. Two children and an animal. The prince was completely oblivious about how they even managed to get accepted into a fighting tournament.

He clutched Falchion's hilt but quickly released it. There was absolutely no way that he would—

—the announcer made the call, and the match began. Before Marth had time to collect himself, chaos had overtaken Onett.

Ness leapt for the pitfall and successfully snatched it away from Lucas' grasp. Wide eyed and cautious, Lucas darted in the opposite direction and directly towards Marth. Startled, Lucas called out an attack. Equally as startled, Marth ripped Falchion from its sheath and tried to block the fireball. His attempt was only moderately successful—the brunt of the attack blocked but the overwhelming heat of the blaze making him dizzy.

Down below, Ness made use of the pitfall and hurled it at Pikachu in the road, not noticing the fast approaching truck down the way. Lucas gasped and jumped back down to the ground, completely forgetting about the prince above.

Panic set in immediately. Suddenly, winning the match seemed to be the children's lowest priority.

"Pikachu!" The boy cried, leaping after the Pokemon.

"Ness, no!" Said Lucas, gripping the other boy's arm with a deadly strength.

Ness struggled to tear himself away and jump after Pikachu, but Lucas was determined to prevent it. His voiced panicked and eyes wild, he whirled around to face Marth.

"Do something, you're an adult!"

"Stop the match!" Marth shouted, his eyes darting in the direction of the match overseer. "Stop the match, this is serious!"

The answer came quickly and silently, _No_.

"Please! He'll die!"

_No_.

"Marth!"

"Damn it!" Marth swore and sheathed his sword before jumping from the roof top to the street below.

He reached Pikachu just in time to free him from the hole in the ground, but the contact frightened the Pokemon. The match had never been called. As far as Pikachu knew, they were still in the middle of a fight. With a frightening quickness, Pikachu electrocuted his savoir and scrambled out of the street, leaving the prince behind.

Marth collapsed from the shock, his mind blank for just seconds too long for him to think to drag himself out of the way of the truck. The audience roared to life with mixed sounds of cheers and gasps as they witnessed exactly what more than half of them had come to see. The children still glued to the sidewalk burst into panicked cries drowned out by the sound of the announcer calling the match too late.

Marth heard nothing of it—drowning drowned out by the sound of high pitched ringing in his ears. His eyes rolled about the scene, seeing everything but comprehending nothing. His focused blurred, and he blinked slowly in an attempt to recover it. He saw nothing except for the blue blur of sky and his own body contorted in a way that struck him as odd.

And yet it all seemed horrifically familiar.

He inhaled sharply and suddenly found himself choking on the stench of sweat and his own blood pooling on the hot street beneath him. With a grim smile and realization that washed over him like the hot, August sun, Marth let slip his final words,

"Forgive me, my friends..."

* * *

The competitors were in an uproar, pointing fingers and crying foul as the prince's body was peeled off the concrete and promptly shipped to his family back home. The committee braved the front with a chilling coolness and robotic responses likely pulled straight from a trainee handbook.

_"We are deeply sorry for the immense tragedy that has occurred here today, but we ask that you please return to your respective rooms and trust the committee to deal with the situation."_

_"Accidents happen."_

_"As horrifically tragic as this is, we ask you to do your best to focus on your future matches."_

_"He knew what he was getting himself into."_

Gathered in the lounge room, the competitors brave enough to do so voiced their opinions.

"It's... _disgusting_." Spat Peach, the two children from the match asleep on her lap. "How could they? Why wouldn't they call the match? Couldn't they see what was happening?"

"'Course they could." Came Falco's voice by the window. "They just didn't care."

"But how could they—"

"What good would it have done anyway?" Samus mumbled. "We don't know if stopping the match would have stopped the car."

"And why didn't the car stop?" Peach continued, her expression blank and voice airy in horror. "The driver must have..."

"Not cared." Falco finished, his eyes trailing off.

"But it was on a course run by the committee."

The silence that hung over the room was thick enough to choke on.

"I think... I think I'm going to be sick."

As gently as she could, Zelda moved the children from Peach's lap so she could leave the room. Mario and Luigi followed behind her.

"If you ask me, I think the Committee had it right when they said he had it coming." All eyes snapped in Ganondorf's direction as he spoke.

"They never said that." Samus corrected.

"Might as well have..." Snake mumbled between puffs of a cigarette. "The little birdie's got it right. They don't give a damn about any of us. And 'you knew what this was when you signed up for it' is a pretty lame-ass cover."

"But it is true."

"I do not believe anyone asked for your opinion, Ganondorf." Zelda responded, her voice retaining an eerie calmness. "Today has been a taxing on everyone, and I ask that we all set aside our differences and not provoke one another during this time."

Ganondorf snarled, glaring at Zelda as she once again moved the children to a different source of comfort and stood. With a slight nod to the room, she began to take her leave. As the Mario brothers had done with Peach, Linked trailed closely behind.

"But it is true."

* * *

Link couldn't quite put his finger on it, but the words he spoke came out of his mouth before he'd even realized he'd thought of them.

"Zelda…" he mumbled. If she hadn't been accustomed to his quiet demeanor, she wouldn't have even heard him.

"Yes?"

"The Ocarina of Time." Zelda stopped dead in her tracks and turned to face Link. The stone hard determination in his eyes struck her like an arrow.

"What of it?" she asked softly, already knowing full well what the Hero was getting at.

The two stood in silence. They didn't need to continue the conversation.

"Are you positive that this is what you want to do? As I recall, you and Prince Marth have hardly even had any contact." Zelda asked. Link nodded. Smiling solemnly, Zelda responded. "Of course. It is in your very blood to right the wrongs of this world, I apologize for questioning you."

She shut her eyes and gestured for Link to continue following her. Once in her room, she removed the ocarina from its place of safekeeping and passed it into Link's hands. She seemed distant— her eyes full of something Link could not quite understand. "Please, take care of yourself. This is more perilous than you believe."

He brought the instrument to his lips.

_→A↓→A↓_


	2. Chapter 2

A/N: Thank you all very kindly for the reviews thus far! Glad to see this is being received well (and Shadow Dragon references going noticed ;D )

Feedback about the fighting scenes would be appreciated, as I have virtually no experience with them and don't know if I over/under did it.

I do point it out very briefly, but, just in case it's not clear, I refer to the Pokémon Trainer as Red. It would get awkward to refer to him as "the Pokémon Trainer" all the time. That's almost like being just "the Guy."

Random updates: Drew and added a less-boring cover for this thing. Went back and fixed a grammatical error I noticed in chapter 1. I will more heavily scrutinize this chapter for them later.

* * *

HAZE. →A↓→A↓

Chapter 2

* * *

He awoke sweating despite the cool morning air blowing in through the window he'd left open. He sat up and rubbed his eyes, wondering if he should file a complaint to the Committee about the cooling issue. The AC in the guest's rooms had been broken since he had arrived, and he hadn't heard of any action taken to fix it.

The sky was empty of clouds, but the air was full of the sounds of cicadas chirping their horrible songs. Stone tile and garden flowers surrounded the entirety of the building and eventually stretched out into forest. Marth could see the coast in the distance, but the dark grey water was hardly worth looking at for long.

Marth checked the clock: 6:07 A.M. August 14th.

With a sigh, he stood up and stretched. He only had one match today, so that gave him the entire morning to do whatever he pleased. Although he supposed he didn't really have anything he cared to do. It was too hot to enjoy being outside, and that eliminated the majority of activities.

He dressed in his usual gear—sans his cape and Falchion. There was no point in carrying around things he wouldn't need. Marth figured that he could wander around until something interesting to do came to mind. He needed to get out of his room.

As he reached for the doorknob, there was a tap on the door. When Marth opened it, he was more than surprised to find Link standing in the doorway. He had absolutely no idea what the hero could want.

"Oh, ah, good morning—"

Link pushed his way into the room without saying a word and grabbed the still sheathed Falchion.

"What are you—"

Link handed the sword to its owner and pointed at his own. Marth was completely confused.

"I'm sorry, I do not understand."

"Match…" Link spoke so quietly that Marth almost missed the single word entirely.

"Match?" Marth parroted, still not quite understanding what the hero meant. "Oh, you mean about this afternoon?"

Link shook his head. "Now."

Marth's eyes widened. "Has it been rescheduled?"

_No._

"I see… I'm afraid you'll have to excuse me." Marth replied, the meaning of Link's words finally clicking in his head. "You see, I—"

Marth trailed off without realizing it as his eyes caught the window again. Link glanced behind in an attempt to see what the prince was looking at. Seeing nothing of interest, Link turned to face Marth with an eyebrow cocked in confusion. Even with the sound of cicadas buzzing noisily outside, Marth didn't seem to realize that he'd stopped talking. Concerned, Link reached forward and tapped the prince on the shoulder. He jumped back to life instantly, seemingly embarrassed by the incident.

"Hm? Oh, I am sorry! I don't usually leave my thoughts so unfinished. This heat is just… getting to me, I suppose."

His gaze wandered again and his eyes remained distant as he tried his best to return to the conversation. "You'll have to excuse me, but what were we talking about?"

"Practice." Link replied, pointing at Falchion. Marth seemed surprised when he saw it in his hands.

"Yes, that's right, isn't it…" a statement rather than a question. "And I was declining because of the heat."

Link nodded.

"Why me, if I may ask? The competition is full of people I'm sure would be willing to spar with you, and the two of us do have a match later." Marth laughed jokingly and added, "Unless it is because you want to prepare for our match?"

The rock solid stare he received caught him off guard.

"No."

"Well…" Marth began, dragging out the word uncomfortably. "I really must insist that you find someone else."

"The ocean."

"Pardon?"

"Our match…is on the coast today."

"That will be interesting." Marth said, slightly unsure of how else to respond. He didn't quite understand what Link was trying to do.

The two stood in silence for a moment before there was a knock on the open door.

"Hello? Oh, there you are, Link! Zelda said she thought you might be here." Came Peach's voice from the hall—Samus and Zelda standing behind her. "How'd you know that, Zelda?"

She smiled, "A lucky guess."

"Really lucky!"

"Very." Marth added, the surprise evident in his voice. Smiling, he turned to fully face Peach. "Is there something you'd like of us?"

"Breakfast!" Peach chimed. "I thought it would be fun if we had a picnic on one of the cooler stages. We're allowed to use the stages for whatever we'd like during off hours, as long as the Committee clears it first. Samus checked!"

With the new suggestion on the table, Marth couldn't think of any other reasons to decline Link's company. He didn't have any plans for the day, after all, and the idea of escaping the heat was more than tempting. He quickly glanced at the window again, and turned to Link with a friendly smile. Perhaps the two of them could form a friendship. The hero seemed interested enough…

"Alright, let us go."

Marth led the way, and before Link made the move to follow him, he took another quick look at the window. He couldn't understand what Marth had seen in the window that was so fascinating.

* * *

The group of five had stopped by several other rooms in an attempt to recruit uninterested people before setting up their picnic on the top platform Yoshi's Island, a decision that seemed to confuse everyone except for the one who had chosen it.

"Isn't it nice?" Peach beamed as she dispersed cups of tea. "I remember coming here as a child—well, the real version, anyway."

"It's nice." Samus replied. "But doesn't this stage change seasons? I thought we were trying to find cooler weather, but…"

Peach waved off Samus' concern, "Only during matches."

"So, Zelda." Samus continued, smiling. "Tell me more about this 'lucky guess' of yours."

"Pardon?"

"About knowing Link was in Marth's room. No offense, but you seemed pretty sure of yourself for that to just be a guess."

Zelda smiled, but it was a different kind than Peach and Samus', "He told me he would be there."

Peach and Samus turned to Marth with looks he couldn't understand the implications of. He replied honestly, "Yes, he was asking if I would like to join him in a practice match."

Samus seemed surprised, "Don't you have to file special forms for that?"

Everyone turned to Link, _Yes._

"You already had them prepared then? That must have been an awful hassle, considering that you did not know if I would say yes or not."

_No._

"I'm afraid that I am lost again." Marth frowned.

"Wait. You wanted to have a practice match with him, but you didn't even ask him beforehand? What, were you going to do the paperwork for that on the spot if he said yes?" Samus asked.

"They'd have put you on probation!" Peach exclaimed. "You would have been late for the match!"

"It would have been a waste of time…" Samus corrected. "The Committee wouldn't approve of a practice match so soon before an official one."

Marth eyed Link suspiciously. Granted, he didn't know much about the hero, but he had certainly never heard anything about him being stupid. If he had known about the forms, he must have known that the Committee would shoot down his request before he asked Marth to spar. Link avoided eye contact completely, staring into his cup and closing his eyes as he brought the drink to his mouth. His expression was completely unreadable.

* * *

"I do not particularly care for summer." Marth sighed, taking a seat on the bench just outside the transporter as a Committee member typed in the match information for the records. Marth watched over her shoulder as she did so.

"Unfortunate." The woman replied, typing in four separate names.

_CA: King Dedede_

_CB: Pokémon Trainer [RED][CHARIZARD]_

_CC: Marth_

_CD: Link_

"Four people? I thought it would just be Link and I." Marth questioned.

The Committee woman looked irritated, "Um, no. It was changed early this morning."

"I wasn't informed of this. What are the reasons for it?"

"I don't know, sir. There was a complaint, and the Committee determined—"

"—A complaint?"

The Committee woman refused to further the conversation and ignored all of Marth's comments. When she completed her task, she ushered him into the transporter and waited for the others before sending them off to Delfino Plaza.

* * *

The platform jerked into the air and nearly threw the fighters into the ocean below. Both Marth and Link crouched and balanced themselves with their free hands—their swords still glued to the others. Once the swaying calmed, Marth leapt forward—still crouching low—and took the first swing. Link parried the attack but made no move to return the action. Instead, his gaze shifted upward and he moved onto the upper platform with his blade aimed at Charizard.

Marth spun on his heel and followed, preparing to strike before he'd even finished the jump. Link reacted even earlier, swinging his sword at Marth and breaking the attack before it had even been fully constructed. Narrowing his eyes in determination, Link angled himself and crouched again, delivering a spin attack that had the prince and the dragon jerking backwards to avoid it.

As the swordsmen and the dragon were occupied, the king made his move. Throwing his mallet impossibly high into the sky ahead of him with absurd strength, he jumped and huffed and puffed himself up to the fighter's image of the sun. Releasing his breath all at once, he snatched his hammer and came falling out of the sky, his weapon aimed in the center of the fighter's ring.

Dedede's blow was lost to the force of the steel platform slamming down into the plaza.

Everyone was knocked to their knees, excluding Dedede. Seeing what appeared to be a perfect opportunity, Marth composed himself and sprung with full intent to strike.

Unfortunately, the king was faster than the prince, and the dragon tamer had already shouted commands.

The mallet hit Marth straight across the face with such a strength he thought his head would snap clean off his neck. The blow sent him flying into the ocean, and he found it difficult to pull himself back on to the plaza when soaked fabric and armor beckoned him to the bottom of the sea. His stance was wobbly and his vision was spotted with white.

And then Charizard grabbed the timer the match overseer had tossed into the ring, and everything seemed to cease.

Behind solid walls of white, Marth could have sworn he saw Link moving in his direction, an expression appearing on his face too slowly to really notice. Marth couldn't see. He couldn't stand. He couldn't breathe.

Then time slowly began to move for Marth once more, the strange sensation disorienting him. He fell sideways onto the hard ground.

The second he had hit the ground was also the second he felt he would be sick. He brought his hand to his head and screwed his eyes shut, hoping the spotted visions around him and nausea would soon pass. He made an attempt to stand, but only lost his balance and went tumbling back into the salty pool, his hands aimlessly searching for a way to support him.

_I'm going to drown_, he thought sullenly. The saltwater stung his eyes as he searched for anything to take hold of, but the thick visions of white only intensified.

Then, as suddenly as he had fallen in, he was pulled back up to the surface by Dedede. Marth began coughing and lay practically useless on the stone tile. He didn't take notice as the king began speaking.

"What're you trying to do, kill yourself?" he lectured, resting his massive mallet on his shoulder. "We're fighting here, not swimming!"

"Hey, are you okay?" Red called, withdrawing his Pokemon and running towards the group. "I swear, I didn't mean for that to happen!"

"I am fine." Marth coughed, rubbing at his still burning eyes. "I just—"

The audience began to boo—their displeasure roaring through the sky and overtaking the sound cicadas still ringing loudly in the heads of the fighters.

"Shut up!" Dedede boomed, although his voice only added to the sound instead of calming it. "What's wrong with you people?"

"Excuse us, competitors, but you are stalling further progress of the match. Competitor A, please stop antagonizing the audience. Competitor B, please return to your assigned movement grid. Competitor C, please stand up."

Marth didn't move.

"Competitor C, please stand up."

_Competitor C. Competitor C. Competitor C._

"Marth." Link's voiced emerged from the parade of sound. Marth looked up and found the Hylian—sword sheathed—offering his hand to him. Marth grabbed it without thinking and Red quickly moved in to help stabilize the prince. Red and Link looked to Dedede who, tightly folding his arms, nodded. Much to the chagrin of the audience and the Committee, three of the four competitors put away their gear and held up their hands—a collective sign of forfeit.

"Call the match!"

_'Stop the match, this is serious!'_

"This..." Marth pulled away from the group, staggering backwards.

"Uh, Marth?" Spoke Red.

"What is this?"

"No contest." The announcer called.

Before anyone could do anything else, the transporter had begun its work and brought the fighters back into the main building and separated. Marth panicked, slamming his hands against the door of his pod and shouting things that no one would hear behind the glass. Everyone in the locker room was staring at him like he was insane. A Committee member opened the door.

"What in the world is wrong with—"

Marth shoved him out of the way and bolted out of the room, completely blinded by a fear he couldn't quite grasp the source of.

_'Do something, you're an adult!'_

Back in a separate transport pod, Link clenched his fists and shouted the prince's name for no one to hear.


	3. Chapter 3

A/N: Super short this time, but it leads into the next and final chapter like I wanted.

* * *

HAZE. →A↓→A↓

Chapter 3

* * *

It hadn't even been a full minute before Marth began to chide himself for his behavior. Guilt and shame overtook him, and he stood completely still as a parade of footsteps echoed behind him. He'd lived through war. He'd lead entire nations to victory. What the hell had snapped in him at Delfino Plaza?

He tried to recall the images that had flashed into his head, but he couldn't remember anything.

Marth shut his eyes and took a deep breath. As the hall flooded with concerned people, he bowed his head apologetically.

"Please excuse my behavior. It was extremely inappropriate, and I am sorry."

The Committee member Marth had shoved was not open to apologies, "I don't know what kind of stunts you get away with back home, _Your Highness, _but when you agreed to participate in this competition, you waived your rights to any special treatment. You're the same as the rest of them."

Marth's head titled up slightly, wondering if he should question the strange wording of the Committee member's sentence, "My title had nothing to do with my outburst, sir."

The man motioned for Marth to stop talking, "I don't want to hear any of it, _Lowell_."

"I beg your pardon?" Marth spoke, snapping up straight with narrowed eyes.

"You're on probation. Consider the rest of your matches this week cancelled."

"For what reason?"

The Committee member shrugged and turned back to the crowd, "Because I can do that."

Marth felt his face sting with a mixture of embarrassment and anger. Everyone's eyes were focused entirely on him and some mouths mumbling things he couldn't make out. Standing the closest to the prince was Link, who couldn't help but let a smile form on his usually serious face. Marth noticed almost immediately. The prince's head snapped in Link's direction, but his expression remained blank, and he said nothing. The smile vanished in an instant as Marth began moving down the hall once more.

"Again, I would like to apologize. Please do not think any less of me."

The group dispersed into several smaller ones and, gossip racing rapidly from person to person.

Link paid no mind to any of the chatter. He chased after Marth.

* * *

He'd climbed two stories higher with the intent to return to his room for the rest of the day. He'd broken into a sweat for what felt like the millionth time—the added heat spilling though the windows making his up-stair journey only that much more unpleasant. Several people passed him on the way up, some taking no notice while others made obvious attempts to pretend that they didn't. News seemed to travel absurdly fast, and the tagalong that had been creeping behind Marth since the first flight of stairs wasn't doing the prince any favors.

"Isn't it interesting," Ganondorf spoke, "how all of these summer days feel all the same?"

Marth grimaced inwardly, "I apologize, but I really do not feel like talking right now."

Ganondorf smirked, "What do you think causes that? The heat, maybe?"

"I can assure you that I don't know."

"I'm certain that you do."

Marth whirled around just in time to see Ganondorf extended a hand towards the prince.

Marth saw a beautiful array of colors fly by him as he was thrown backwards onto one of the windows—brilliant little shards of glass that tore into his skin as the window shattered behind him. He tried to form words quickly shut his mouth and eyes as sharp pang of sadness enveloped him. He had nothing to say this time.

_I'm dying._

Not a single set of eyes saw Marth's head split open as he slammed into the solid stone ground three stories below.

_Again._

_→A↓→A↓_

* * *

_"Did your match go well?"_

_"Ah, yes. I took first place, actually." Marth smiled. _

_Peach's eyes lit up, "Oh, really? That's amazing!"_

_Marth nodded, "Link is a strong fighter. I am honored to have had the opportunity to spar with him."_

_→A↓→A↓_

* * *

_He was ripped away from his thoughts when Link, a fellow competitor, bumped into him. Neither man made any indication that they had noticed. Their eyes met for a brief moment, but the connection was quickly lost._

_As the Hylian man went about his way, Marth sighed and wiped the sweat from his neck and face. He cast his towel into the pile with the rest of the soiled ones and went to the shower room. _

_→A↓→A↓_

* * *

I'm going to drown, _he thought sullenly._ _The saltwater stung his eyes as he searched for anything to take hold of, but the thick visions of white only intensified before dipping to black._

_→A↓→A↓_

* * *

_"Has it been rescheduled?"_

No.

_"I see…" Marth replied, the meaning of Link's words finally clicking in his head. "Yes, I suppose I can have a practice match with you._

_→A↓→A↓_

* * *

_Startled, Lucas called out an attack. Equally as startled, Marth ripped Falchion from its sheath and tried to block the fireball. His attempt was a complete failure—the attack burning through his clothes and knocking him off the roof of the building._

_Panic set in immediately. Suddenly, winning the match seemed to be the children's lowest priority._

* * *

_→A↓→A↓_

* * *

_"If you ask me, I think the committee had it right when they said he had it coming." All eyes snapped in Ganondorf's direction as he spoke._

_→A↓→A↓_

* * *

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_→A↓→A↓_

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* * *

_"Zelda…" he mumbled. If she hadn't been accustomed to his quiet demeanor, she wouldn't have even heard him._

_"Yes?"_

_"The Ocarina of Time." Zelda stopped dead in her tracks and turned to face Link. The stone hard determination in Link's eyes struck her like an arrow. _

_"What of it?" she asked softly._

_"I'd like to… try this day again."_

_"Because of Marth?"_

_Unfazed by the princess' keen perception, Link nodded._

_"Are you positive that this is what you want to do? As I recall, you and Prince Marth have hardly even had any contact." Zelda asked. Link nodded. Frowning solemnly, Zelda responded. "Please, you must let me think this over. I understand that your blood is noble, but time travel is such a delicate thing. I'm not sure that this is a matter of great enough significance to warrant—"_

_The disappointment plastered across Link's face made her heart sink. He'd never looked at her with such an expression before._

_"Please, surely you understand…"_

_→A↓→A↓_

* * *

_→A↓→A↓_

* * *

_Why isn't it working?_


	4. Chapter 4

A/N: And this is the end of that! Thank you very much for reading. I appreciate it very much, and I am glad it was enjoyable thus far.

* * *

HAZE. →A↓→A↓

Chapter 4

* * *

His eyes shot open as he ripped the blankets off of his body in a panic. He sat still for a moment, his hands feeling clammy from waking in a cold sweat. The only sound was the clock ticking on the wall. His let his eyes fall on the object, seeing it was only a little past midnight. That made it August 15th.

The match was today…

The match where Marth died.

Link continued to breathe in audibly and deeply and stared straight up at the ceiling. What he could only hope were nightmares—although he knew better than that—of Marth's death had been plaguing him for what had seemed like ages now. He'd lost track of how many times he'd played the song that whisked him back in time to the start of the 14th, but it felt like it had been tens of hundreds of years…

With a sigh, Link moaned and rolled over in his bed, pulling his pillow down tight over his head to block out the image of the moon. It was exactly times like this that he started to believe that he was losing his mind. Why wasn't it working? Just how many times did he have to see the prince die before he could live?

What had compelled him to continue the cycle when he could just as easily end it himself? The 16th was just within reach.

Link rolled over again. He didn't like when his mind ran wild like that—he hated when his thoughts dipped in that direction.

He was a hero, it was his job. Link frowned. There had to be something he could do differently this time—something that would finally work.

There had to be _something_. There had to be a point in time where Marth wasn't run over or drowned. There had to be a time where he didn't go flying out of windows and bleed to death in the flowers, or have his neck snapped in battle. There _must _be a time where the heat didn't make the prince sick and dizzy and shove him down the stairs.

There had to be, or Link's efforts were all wasted.

His mind swam in scenarios, and he found it difficult to fall back asleep.

* * *

Cold water cascaded down Marth's body—a brief reprieve from the damning heat just beyond the shower curtain. He let the water pool into his cupped hands and splashed it onto his face, both jolting him awake and momentarily washing away his anxieties before they slowly crept their way back up into his mind. He stared blankly at the shower nozzle, intrigued by his own warped reflection in the casing, and blinked away droplets as icy streams lead into his eyes.

There wasn't anything particularly remarkable about today, but Marth couldn't shake his feelings of dread no matter how many times he drilled facts his head.

_Today is just like any other day. I will be fine. I should not feel this way._

But his heart would not listen to his mind, and instead continually tried to drag his thoughts down to the same obscure place of fear Marth could not identify.

_I'm going to die._

He hurriedly splashed his face, and when it failed to quell his unease, he shut off the water and leaned against the wall of the shower. He listened as the quickly depleting stream was reduced to droplets with hardly enough energy to make a sound as they hit the plastic floor. When the sound came almost unbearably slow, he reached for a towel and stepped out of the shower.

Marth grimaced as the summer swallowed up any trace that the shower had been at all refreshing.

He looked at himself in the mirror and ran the hand not supporting his weight on the counter through his soaked hair. The difference between the caricature of a prince with glazed over eyes he had seen in the shower and the reflection he saw now almost made him question if he was still the same person.

The sound of knocking on his bedroom door startled Marth back into focus, "One moment!"

Marth dried himself as quickly as he could and put on his shirt and pants for the sake of decency before opening the door. He felt that he should be surprised when he found Link standing in the doorway, having no idea what the hero could want, but his presence somehow felt expected at the same time.

"Good morning, Link. Is there something that you'd like?"

Link nodded, pushing his way into the room without saying a word.

"Close the door."

"Is something the matter?" Marth asked, suddenly very serious.

"The door…"

Very slowly, Marth complied.

"Listen…" Link began the second the door clicked shut, his tone an odd combination of desperation and authority. "You can't leave your room today."

Marth's earlier feelings of anxiety rose back up in his throat. "What? I have a match today, I have to go."

"Forfeit."

"I can't do that! That would be dishonorable. I have an obligation to—"

"You _can't_."

The prince's shoulders tensed as the hero grabbed them forcefully. The sudden contact put him on edge, and he almost cursed himself for not wearing his pauldrons, "Link, let me go."

"You have to stay here." His fingers dug into Marth's skin. "You can't leave this room, and you can't let anyone come in."

"And why is that?" Marth questioned, finding Link's sudden fluency off-putting.

Link's grip eased slightly, but he still did not let go of the prince, "It's the only thing I can think of."

Marth shifted uncomfortably, "What do you mean?"

"To keep you a live."

Link's hands suddenly snapped back and pushed the hero a step backwards. He seemed as if his own words had surprised him. Marth involuntarily took a step back and bumped into the door, his knees quickly losing their ability to support him. Link had said it—he'd put Marth's blind fears into words. Marth dug his fingernails into his palms and bit his lip, _No, this is ridiculous._

The prince moved from the door and stood up, "That's ridiculous. You are worrying far too much about this match today. Over a near stranger, no less."

"You don't understand." Link replied, his tone dead flat. "You're—"

—_going to die._

"Please, Link," Marth opened the door behind him and stood to the side, presenting the thing as if it were something grand, "I would be very appreciate if you would take your leave now."

Link narrowed his eyes and didn't budge, "Marth—"

"This room is like hell, Link. I will not stay here."

Link made a frustrated sound, screwed his eyes shut, and latched on to a huge chunk of his hair—gripping it with such intensity that Marth was surprised it wasn't all ripped out. When the hero opened his eyes again, he looked as if he hadn't slept in ages. The prince took notice.

"Perhaps sleeplessness makes you a liar…" he said airily, almost to himself.

Link's response came in like stressed shouts Marth only heard from him on the battlefield, "A liar? You think I'm _lying_? Do you _want_ to die?"

Marth looked away and waited before quietly replying, "Of course not."

Link's voice calmed, "Then stay here."

"And just what makes you so sure that I am going to die today?"

Link fulfilled Marth's earlier request and made his way towards the door. He stopped at the doorway, remaining silent for an agonizing amount of time as if to make up for his sudden flood of speech. He looked completely exhausted. When he spoke again it was hardly a whisper:

"Maybe you won't..."

And he made his way out the door and down the hall. Unsatisfied with the response, Marth moved to follow him, but his hands unconsciously flew up to the doorframe to keep him trapped inside his room. _Don't be an idiot. _He chided, _You will not die today._

"Marth, are you okay?" came the voice of a wide eyed Peach. "What just happened?"

The prince turned his head in the opposite direction and found Zelda, Samus, and Peach standing down the hall with a picnic basket in hand.

"Was he threatening you?" Samus asked, her eyes narrowed. Zelda's head snapped in her direction, but she said nothing.

"Oh, I'm sorry! Did you hear all of that?" Marth asked, suddenly aware that the shouting had taken place with the door wide open. "And… no, he wasn't threatening me." He finished, even though he was unsure that himself.

The women—excluding Zelda—seemed incredulous.

"I believe he is just… overly concerned about my match today."

"Why would he be?" Samus asked, still not appearing entirely convinced. "You're a strong fighter. No offense, Zelda, but it sounds like your friend might be a little paranoid."

Zelda shook her head, "Link has more courage and trust than anyone I have ever met. Things like paranoia are not in his nature."

Something about that struck a chord with Marth. The women quickly became engaged in their own conversation as Marth bid them goodbye and slipped back into his room. He did not know Link very well, but he felt that the outburst had been strange. What reason could Link have possibly had to lie to him?

But Marth shook off these thoughts and began to strap on his armor. Surely his survival was not dependent on the words of a stranger…

* * *

Before Marth had time to collect himself, chaos had overtaken Onett.

Ness leapt for a pitfall and successfully snatched it away from Lucas' grasp. Lucas quickly whirled around and launched an attack at Marth. The prince ripped Falchion from its sheath and skillfully parried the fireball.

Down below, Ness made use of the pitfall and hurled it at Pikachu in the road, not noticing the fast approaching truck down the way. Lucas gasped and jumped back down to the ground, completely forgetting about the prince above.

"Pikachu!" The boy cried, leaping after the Pokemon.

"Ness, no!" Said Lucas, gripping the other boy's arm with a deadly strength.

Ness struggled to tear himself away and jump after Pikachu, but Lucas was determined to prevent it. His voiced panicked and eyes wild, he whirled around to face Marth.

"Do something, you're an adult!"

"Stop the match!" Marth shouted, his eyes darting in the direction of the match overseer. "Stop the match, this is serious!"

_No_. _No_._ No_._ No_. _No_._ No_._ No_. _No_._ No_._ No_. _No_._ No_._ No_. _No_._ No_._ No_. _No_._ No_._ No_. _No_._ No_._ No_. _No_._ No_._ No_. _No_._ No_._ No_. _No_._ No_._ No_. _No_._ No_._ No_. _No_._ No_._ No_. _No_._ No_._ No_. _No_._ No_._ No_. _No_._ No_._ No_. _No_._ No_._ No_. _No_._ No_._ No_. _No_._ No_.

"Please! He'll die!"

_No_._ No_. _No_._ No_._ No_. _No_._ No_._ No_. _No_._ No_._ No_. _No_._ No_._ No_. _No_._ No_._ No_. _No_._ No_._ No_. _No_._ No_._ No_. _No_._ No_._ No_. _No_._ No_._ No_. _No_._ No_._ No_. _No_._ No_._ No_. _No_._ No_._ No_. _No_._ No_._ No_. _No_._ No_._ No_. _No_._ No_._ No_. _No_._ No_._ No_. _No_._ No_._ No_. _No_._ No_._ No_. _No_._ No_._ No_. _No_._ No_._ No_. _No_._ No_._ No_. _No_._ No_._ No_. _No_._ No_._ No_. _No_._ No_._ No_. _No_._ No_._ No_. _No_._ No_._ No_. _No_._ No_._ No_. _No_._ No_._ No_. _No_._ No_._ No_. _No_._ No_._ No_. _No_._ No_._ No_. _No_._ No_._ No_. _No_._ No_._ No_. _No_._ No_._ No_. _No_._ No_._ No_. _No_.

"Marth!"

"Damn it!" Marth swore and sheathed his sword before jumping from the roof top to the street below.

He reached Pikachu just in time to free him from the hole in the ground, but the overseer never called the match. As far as Pikachu knew, they were still in the middle of a fight. With a frightening quickness, Pikachu electrocuted his savoir and scrambled out of the street, leaving the prince behind in the street to die yet again.

Marth collapsed from the shock. The children shrieked, jumping backwards and covering their faces with their hands as they saw something Marth could not. At about the same time, the prince felt something ram into him and send him tumbling to the other side of the street. The match was called.

And suddenly blood was everywhere. Marth coughed on the acrid scent of copper and heat. Ness and Lucas rushed to his aid, pulling him onto the sidewalk and doing their best to get him back on his feet.

"Marth, stand up! _Stand up_!"

He obeyed and looked up in horror when he saw what had happened. Almost as suddenly as the match had begun, it had ended with Link lying dead in the street. Marth was absolutely petrified. The audience roared to life with excitement and confusion. As if on pure instinct, Marth bolted in the direction of the mess as words from earlier that day rang in his ears.

_"And just what makes you so sure that I am going to die today?"_

_"Maybe you won't..."_

"No…"

Marth felt as if he would faint. The two of them had spoken just hours ago. His heart was in his mouth as his brain latched onto the subject. _Just hours ago, he came to warn me_. Marth wanted to go back to his home, go to bed, and pretend like all of the things that had just happened to him in the past few seconds or so had all just been a dream. If he had listened to Link…

But Marth he knew that wasn't an option, and he felt the sun laughing at him behind his back.

The images in his mind were blurry, but he knew the scene was wrong.

And then the Committee was suddenly creeping their way all over Onett, snatching up Pikachu and Ness and Lucas. A man grabbed Marth on the arm to hoist him up off the road, but the prince quickly slapped the hand away.

"Stand up, Lowell."

"I will not." Marth snapped. "Do you not see this? _You _should have done something to prevent this—"

"Sir, there was nothing —"

"Do not give me any of that! This is your tournament and your arena. How did he even get here? There is no way anyone could have possibly missed him—"

Marth was cut off as more members of the Committee came forward and put their hands on him. He struggled against them, but the efforts proved to be in vain as he they began dragging him across the street when he refused to stand. Marth kicked frantically, flailing like a madman in the grip of even madder men.

And words came spilling out of his mouth before he could stop them, "I should have stayed in my room…" He breathed, but the heat burned up his words before anyone could hear them.

* * *

The competitors were in a frantic uproar, pointing fingers and crying foul as Links body was peeled off the concrete and presented for Zelda before she instructed them to send him back to Hyrule. The committee braved the front with a chilling coolness and robotic responses likely pulled straight from a trainee handbook.

No one could imagine what had possessed Link to dash out on to the stage in the middle of a battle. Rumors began to circulate just as quickly as concern. Link would have had to have known about the car in advance, and he _had _gone to Marth's room earlier with warnings…

Marth searched the room for Zelda, but he could not find her among the other fighters. His eyes caught Ganondorf's from across the room, and the king flashed a smile at him. Marth frowned and quickly broke the contact, and Ganondorf went back to cruelly boasting about the death of his rival and at the same time declaring the oddity of summer days.

Marth went out into the hallway in search of Zelda and found her standing just outside the door as if she'd been waiting there. She did not meet his eyes, but greeted him kindly, "Prince Marth."

"Princess Zelda," Marth began, his tone as gentle as he could manage, "There is something I would like to speak to you about."

She did not turn to face him, "Yes?"

"This morning, when Link came into my room..." When Zelda did not reply, Marth continued, "And he said that I would die today if I left there."

"And you would have, had Link not been there to save you." Something in Zelda's tone struck Marth as odd. He had figured that Zelda would have been upset, but she appeared to be as calm and understanding as ever.

He frowned, "Princess Zelda, did… you two know something…?"

There was a long pause before Zelda spoke again, "Please come with me, Prince Marth."

She walked passed him without so much as offering a glance, but Marth still managed to catch the same tired expression she had seen on Link. The prince followed behind her silently until the two of them reached her room. Marth stopped, wary of accompanying the woman by himself, but she gestured for him to follow and he reluctantly obeyed. Once in her room, she motioned for Marth to close the door behind them and pulled something from a small box on the table next to her bed.

"What is that…?" Marth asked, not moving from his place near the door.

"The Ocarina of Time." She replied, starring at the instrument with a mixture of love and apprehension. "There is a song known by members of the Hylian Royal Family that, when played on this instrument, can alter the flow of time. Only a selected few outside of the family are taught this song, and Link is—was, one of them…"

Marth nearly fell over as sudden realization struck him hard across the face. "I see…"

Zelda made no move to return the instrument back to its box, and, after a few moment of silence, Marth stepped forward. He spoke softly, "Princess Zelda... I am very sorry for the loss you have suffered today. I understand loss more than I care to admit, and I feel as if Link's death today is my fault, and I would like to right this wrong. If I had listened today…"

"Do not blame yourself so harshly." Zelda replied just as softly. "It is understandable that you would not believe him so easily. In your perspective, you are but strangers."

"I would, if you would allow me, like to learn this song and save Link."

"You have tried before…"

Marth blinked, surprised, "I do not remember that."

"It is not surprising. Memories are a tricky thing, and… I feel that it has been a long time."

"How long?"

"I cannot say."

Without any further words, Zelda brought the instrument to her lips.

_→A↓→A↓_

She passed the instrument to the prince.

"Please, take care of yourself. This is more perilous than you believe."

Marth shook his head and smiled, "I know what I'm getting myself in to."

_→A↓→A↓_


End file.
